Flying machine



Dec. 25, 1923. M739? J. PREATKA FLYING MACHINE Filed Oct. 26 1933 3SheetsSheet 1 IN VEN TOR ATTORNEY Dean 25, 1923.

J. PREATKA FLYING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 26 1923 INVENTORATTORNEY Patented es. 252, 1

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JOSEPH PREAT 015 NEW YORK, N. Y,

FLYING MACHINE.

Application filedflctober 26, 1923. Serial No. 670,350.

To all whom it may concern:

Be' it known that I, JosErH PREATKA, a citizen of Hungary, and residentof the cityof New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Flying Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to improvements in flying machines, andmore particularly to that type in which the means of sustentation andpropulsion consists of beating wings.

The main object of the invention is to provide a machine of thecharacter mentioned which comprises a plurality of wings, some of whichare arranged in pairs and all of which are actuated by the intermediaryof a single connecting rod, so arranged that the said rod may be movedmanually to cause a movement of the sa1d wings in case the motor of theflying machine is disabled, thereby permitting of a safe descent of theflying machines Another object of my invention is to provide a flyingmachine which is light in weight, simple in construction, compara-.

tively inexpensive to manufacture, strong and durable.

A further object of the invention is to so mount the beating planes orwings on the frame that they are wholly disposed outside of the same,they being grouped around a tower-like structure and thus capable, atall times, to perform their proper functions.

With these and other objects in view, which will more fully appear asthe nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists inthe combination, arrangement and construction of parts hereinafterdescribed, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be madein the'size and proportion of the several parts and details ofconstruction within the scope of the appended claims, without departingfrom the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

One of the many possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of aflying machine constructed in accordance with the sections 20' and 20".Y rotated from a motor, not shown, in the the present invention, thetail part of the said machine being not shown; Fig. 21s a frontelevation of the same; Fig. 3'is a section taken on line 3--3 of Fig. 1;and Fig. 4: is a perspective view showin diagrammatically thearrangement of thewings of the machine and their connecting means.

' In the drawings, the numeral. 10 indicates the car or body of theflying machine, hav

ing long stream lines as usual in constructions ofthis type, to presentas little resistance to the air as possible. The body is mounted uponfront wheels 11 and rear wheels 12, enabling the flying machine totravel on the ground when ascending and descending. The front wheels aremounted upon a shaftlS and are connected there: with by clutches 14 ofany suitable construction, suitable clutch engaging and disengagingmeans 15- being provided.

From the body or car of the machine rises a tower-like construction 16,that is quadrangular in transverse cross-section and provided in itssides with openings 17, to permit of free access of air. The top of thistower-like construction is provided with a cover 18 (Fig. 4), presentinga surface to the air and thereby increasing the sustaining power of thewings hereinafter to be described. Approximately midway between the endsof the tower there is oscillatably mounted thereon a longitudinallyextending wing 19, projecting forward and rearward of thesaid tower, itbeing adapted to swing on horizontal pivots 19', which extendtransversely of the frame 10. This wing is connected by a rod 20 with acrank- 21 on the shaft 13, the said rod being made of two sections,denoted b the numerals 20 and 20", the connection etween the twosections being made by a coupling, in the present case by a bolt 23,extending through The shaft 13 is car or body of the machine, powerbeing transmitted from the said motor to the sa1d shaft in any suitablemanner. In the case illustrated, there is keyed or otherwise at- Ktached to the shaft 13 a bevel gear 24, in

mesh with a similar gear 25, the shaft 26 of which is driven from themotor.

Above the wing 19 is hinged to the sides of the tower 16 apair'oflongitudinal wings .27, and below the wing 19 a pair of wings-28. The pintles 29 of the hinges 30, connecting the wings 27 and-28 withthe sides of the tower 16, extend horizontally and parallel to thelongitudinal axis of the body or car 10 of the machine. The wings 27 areeach connected by a rod 31 with the wing 18, the said rods being pivotedat 32 and 33 to the wing 19 and the respective wing 27, the pivot pins33 being disposed adjacent the hinged ends of the wings 27 and the rods31 being forward of the tower 16. In a similar manner is connected eachwing 28 with the wing 19 by a rod 34, pivoted at 35 and 36 to the wing19 and the wing 28, respectively,

1 the pivots 36 being disposed adjacent the hinges connecting the wings28 with the tower 16 and the rods 34 being disposed in rear of the saidtower. By reason of this location of the rods 31 and 34 with respect tothe pivots 19 of the wing 19, the Wings 27 and 28 will at all times movein opposite directions. 1

To the top of the tower 16 are hinged wings 37 and 38, one in front ofthe said 1 tower and the other one in rear thereof, the

pintles 39 of the hinges 40, connecting the wings 37 and 38 to thetower, extending horizontally and transversely of the longitudinal axisto the car or body 10. The wing 37 is connected by a rod 41 with thewing 19, said rod being pivoted at 42 and 43to the wings 19 and 37,respectively, the pivot 43 being disposed adjacent the hinge connectingthe wing 37 with the tower. Similarly, the wing 38 is connected with thewing 19 by a rod 44, that is pivoted at 45 and 46 to the wings 19 and38, respectively,

. the pivot pin 46 being disposed adjacent the hinge that connects thewing 38 with the tower. Inasmuch as the rods 41 and 44 are disposed onopposite sides of the pivots 19' of the wing 19, the wings 37 and 38move .at all times in opposite directions.

The operation of this machine is as follows: If it is intended to letthe machine run on the ground without actuating the sustentation andpropulsion means thereof, the pin 13 is disengaged from the connectingrod 20 and the clutches 14 so set as to connect the wheels with theshaft 13. The

machine is obviously provided with suitable steering means, not shown,as the same do not form part of the present application for LettersPatent. If now the motor of the machine is started, the said wheels willbe turned in the proper direction to propel the machine on the ground.

When the two sections of the connecting rod 20 are connected and themotor started, the machine will be propelled on the ground and at thesame time the sustentation and propulsion means actuated. The machinearass"? .tor disconnects t e sections 20' and 20" of the connecting rod20 and moves the section 20 up and down with the same result as if themotor were in operation. A safe descent of the machine can thus beobtained. Attention is called to the fact that this manual moving of allof the wings of the flying machine is possible by reason of the factthat the section 20 of the connecting rod is directly connected to thewing 19, in contradistinction to flying machines heretofore in use inwhich the said connecting rod isusually pivoted to a head, sliding inguides, and furthermore because all of the wings are interconnected andoperated by the intermediary of the said connecting rod.

It is to be noted that all of the wings, with the exception of the wing19, are substantially casing-shaped with an open bottom.

'They present thus a larger surface to the air than if they were flat.This fact will also greatly aid in the safe descent of the machine, incase the motor is disabled.

It is to be noted that when in the air, the

wheels 11 may be caused to come to a standstill by disengaging theclutch members thereon from the clutch members co-operating therewith onthe shaft 13.

What 1 claim is 1. A flying machine comprising a car, a

tower-like structure rising therefrom, a

longitudinal wing pivoted to said tower approximately midway between itsends, a pair of longitudinal wings hinged to said tower above saidfirst-mentioned wing, connecting means between said first-mentioned wingand said pair of wings, a second pair of wings hinged to said towerbelow said first-mentioned wing, connecting means between saidfirst-mentioned wing and said second pair of wings, said first-mentionedconnecting means and said second-mentioned connecting means engagingsaid first-mentioned wing on opposite sides of its pivots,

and' actuating means connected with said

